West Yellowstone is a town in Gallatin County, Montana. The town has existed since the early 1900’s serving as a gateway to the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park.
The town of West Yellowstone offers a great variety of lodging, RV parks, camping areas, gift shops, fishing shops with guide services, Yellowstone National Park information for travelers as well as a good selection of restaurants.
Whether you’re visiting the Yellowstone area during the summer or winter, the town of West Yellowstone is an ideal place to begin your Yellowstone adventure.
Museum of the Yellowstone
The Union Pacific Railroad once offered passenger service directly to West Yellowstone. At the time of the first passenger arriving on June 11, 1908, today’s West Yellowstone was called Riverside. Rail passenger service ended after the 1960 tourist season. The historic Union Pacific Depot which served the town and welcomed thousands upon thousands of passengers still remains and today is home to The Museum of the Yellowstone.
The Museum showcases the town local history as well as the history of transportation and the history of Yellowstone National Park, our nation’s first national park.
You’ll see many displays that include stage coach and railroad companies which were necessary to bring tens of thousands of visitors to the Yellowstone.
Additionally there are numerous historic artifacts, weekly educational programs, guest speakers, films, and guided walking tours of the historic district. The Museum of the Yellowstone is a must stop and is open daily from the middle of May through the middle of October.
Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center
The Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center is a not-for-profit wildlife park and educational facility opened in 1993 that is located in West Yellowstone, Montana at 201 S Canyon St. The center is open 365 days a year. Your admission is good for two consecutive days which allows you to leisurely explore the entire venue.
It’s a small but excellent facility. Two to three hours would allow you enough time to see the bears and wolves feeding/interactions.
West Yellowstone Fishing
West Yellowstone offers excellent fishing all year long. You’ll experience top notch trout streams that surround the town. It’s the heart of fly fishing in the Rocky Mountains and you’ll enjoy blue-ribbon trout streams that have welcomed fishermen from around the world. Species include brook, brown, cutthroat, lake and rainbow trout, along with grayling and whitefish. Excellent fishing is found in and outside the national park. Fishing permits for fishermen 16 years of age and older are available at the Yellowstone General Stores located throughout the park.
Related Trips Into History article are found on the links below..
Great Sand Dunes National Park
Getting to West Yellowstone
Other than driving your personal or rental vehicle to West Yellowstone there is also a shuttle service offered. Shuttle service to West Yellowstone is available year round from the Bozeman, MT airport, and seasonally from Idaho Falls (connecting to Salt Lake City) and Jackson Hole.
Seasonal air service is also available. Delta Connection offers flights to the airport from Salt Lake City.
Once in West Yellowstone be sure to check out private tour companies which offer some very scenic van and bus tours of the national park.
For all of these travel options be certain to check current dates and schedules with each carrier.
(Photos copyright Trips Into History)